Feather your Nest Friday, 1st October, 2021.
It is October! This week went really fast. October always feels like almost Christmas to me and the weeks go by even faster for some reason as the year goes on! So again I am glad to stop and look over the week.
I have already made quite a few fruit cakes. It is a good feeling having my cake tins full. I made three more plus two trays of Tuna Mornay. This tray went over to Chloe to help her out.
I put two more cakes away. Some of these will be Christmas presents.
Every day I pull two buckets of weeds. One for each of the goats. They both eat the whole thing in a day.
Because there are flowers everywhere just now I decided to start drying as many as possible. Yellow is the main colour, then white. When I see pink I am so happy as pink and blue are my favourite.
This is growing in quite a few patches...
I have filled baskets and picked armfuls.
I hope to keep adding and finding new places to hang flowers.
We had rain. This is so good to keep things green and all my seedlings are looking good. I added more pumpkin patches because I had more seeds come up.
We had to move the sheep and cows. So out came the packet of biscuits and they followed us...
We drive along a little bit, give a biscuit, drive along some more.
If we go too fast they tire out so we stop and give more biscuits.
Andy had a close call... haha
We have two guys in the cabin. Guess what they arrived with!!?
On the local buy, swap and sell I found a lady giving away succulents. I got two boxes of beautiful plants. They need to be separated so this will be a project over the weekend.
So I was very lucky this week. It was beautiful.
After finishing the thirty day challenge I have been thinking. I know I pretty much remind everyone to build up their pantry every single week. On Monday I went to town and did the biggest basic grocery stock up I have ever done in my life. We are seeing some crazy stuff here. I saw news of seven hour long queues for fuel in England. News that 80 MILLION households in Europe struggle to stay warm and their heating cost is going through the roof. Rising energy costs are hitting us all. We were hit pretty hard already and were the most expensive place in the world for electricity for some time (not sure where we are now...) as they KNOCKED OVER our power stations.
Wherever you are please let us know how things are as what happens in one country usually turns up in another. We used to follow closely along behind the US and UK in many things. Now we seem to have gone out the front in lockdowns etc. We can learn so much from each other. We can be eyes and ears and watchful for each other too. Mostly we can be friends and encourage each other. We were born for such a time as this and we can do it! xxx
I love the pictures of Andy and the cow! City folks would have been out the other door!
ReplyDeleteWe are finishimg up painting all the trim on our house. Some places were peeling and now they are scraped and repaired. Today is caulking. It is important to keep this old house in good repair as long as we can do it.
Many, many bare shelves at the grocery stores this week. I asked if it was a shortage of help or a shortage of product and we were told product. I mentioned earlier in the week that we live near an inland port. Trains bring containers from the coast to here and then those containers ship out from here to all over. We usually hear trains running all night and they are heavily loaded so they kind of thump the ground. It is silent at night and has been for a few weeks. This is not good.
Have a great weekend!
Dear Lana, Haha yes some people who have jumped out of that seat. I was so busy laughing it is a wonder I got the photos!
DeleteThe painting will look lovely but also as you say it keeps the timber in good condition and that is important. Paint is fantastic really and like a preservative!
Thank you for your observations. You knowing the usual patten with the trains and noticing how silent it is now... well wow that does tell us something is up. That is not a reduction that is more like a stoppage. Lana I know you are smart but I am saying stock the best you can... what will happen as people want to buy for Thanks giving then Christmas if shelves are low now?
Thanks for that and you enjoy a very nice weekend too! With love Annabel.xxx
Your pasture flowers are so lovely.
ReplyDeleteThank you! We have a sea of yellow right now! xx
DeleteThank you so much for all you do. Your 30 preparedness series was invaluable. Lots of this I never would have thought of.
ReplyDeleteDear Diann, Thank you I am so glad it was helpful to you! xxx
DeleteOur weather is finally beginning to cool off here. The nights have been dropping into the mid 30's range and the days in the 70's. That is one of the things we love about Wyoming; the big range of night and day temps. It makes mornings cool and lovely for opening windows for fresh air.
ReplyDeleteI have been making bone broth and freezing it. I have, also, kept one crock pot busy cooking beef or chicken and freezing serving sized portions. I determined that I wanted ten days of meat, already cooked, in the freezer.
More practice and I will try pressure canning some meat. We do keep many cans of tuna, organic chicken breast and salmon in our food storage.
Our grand daughter is vegan and chose this at the age of 13. She is now 17 and very healthy. She plans out her own meals and makes sure her protein is adequate. I know some items that she eats, but will find out more and stock those items, also. We try to stock for family as a whole. Everyone else eats meat.
Stocking and meal planning has been allocated a lot of time in my schedule lately. Everything bought now is a bird in the hand and less expensive than in the future, if items are even available.
Prices are rising here, on some items, rapidly. Meat continues to go up, so we are ordering from the rancher we buy beef from to get the current prices. We checked store prices and saw that we are paying about the same or less for organic free range beef from the rancher. We have bought from them for years and the meat is consistently delicious. Ranchers cut out the middleman from the cost equation.
It is canning time, so we did our tomatoes this week. Next week will be Amish relish and plums. The squash keeps for awhile, thankfully.
Many blessings to all,
Glenda
Canning meat is so easy! Just cube your raw meat and pack in the jars and add the lid and ring. Leave 1.5 inches of headspace. You do not need to add anything else but you can add salt if you desire. I process at 15 pounds 75 minutes for pints and 90 for quarts. I do chicken breast, pork and beef and it is absolutely delicious!
DeleteThank you for the help, Lana. It is much appreciated.
DeleteDear Glenda, I think it is really good you are buying from the rancher. If shelves got low I think you would find the rancher will look after his loyal customers first. So you have a direct source. I keep a fair bit of tuna also. It is a protein that makes a good meal and we like and stores so well long term. I think very good to have some bone broth frozen as well.
DeleteWell done on the tomatoes! The relish will be beautiful too! With love Annabel.xxx
Re UK fuel situation. The issue seems to be regional.
ReplyDeleteHave just spent 8 days in Wales. Saw only 1 closed filling station. The rest had most pumps and fuel types available with minimal queues - say 2 cars max. On return to England no fuel available in 1 service station the M25 (major motorway which circles London). In home town both filling stations had queues in excess of 15 vehicles - 1 had no diesel . CRAZY.
Re UK fuel situation. The issue seems to be regional.
ReplyDeleteHave just spent 8 days in Wales. Saw only 1 closed filling station. The rest had most pumps and fuel types available with minimal queues - say 2 cars max. On return to England no fuel available in 1 service station the M25 (major motorway which circles London). In home town both filling stations had queues in excess of 15 vehicles - 1 had no diesel . CRAZY.
Dear Gill,
DeleteThanks for the report. They are showing pictures of queues of cars on the news. It would take some planning to travel but I am glad you got on ok! Love Annabel.xxx
What a great week you had! What a bounty of produce you received from the men staying in your cabin! And how productive you were last week; those cakes are works of art, and the armfuls of flowers, how lovely. The sheep and cow are so funny, following the vehicle for biscuits!
ReplyDeleteIn my state (Idaho) in the USA, we are under crisis standards of care, which is a "last resort" It means that each hospital here may not have beds or doctors/nurses or ventilators available to help people (with or without covid), due to the huge number of covid cases. It's quite frightening. Gas (petrol for cars and trucks) prices in our state are higher than USA average, and prices are increasing on food here. Cost for housing is so high here. I wish I had better things to report about my area of the world.
I hope all Bluebirds stay healthy and safe, and keep ourselves happily occupied taking care of our families, neighbors, pets, and ourselves. There is so much we can and are doing to keep ourselves positive and productive in spite of the world around us. Off I go to make some pumpkin chocolate chip cookies. Wish I could share them with you all. Love to you all, Teresa
My children have been requesting the same cookie. They are always delicious!
DeleteGinger
Dear Teresa,
DeleteThank you for reporting for your area in Idaho. That is very scary. You have a few things to contend with. You are right we need to soldier on and be as positive as possible. Thank you for your kind words! With love Annabel.xxx
Love your flowers hanging from your sweet cupboard. I love dried flowers, but have house cats that love them even more. ugh!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much. I am adding all I can! xxx
DeleteWhat do you mean they knocked over your power stations? I don't understand.
ReplyDeleteHolley they closed two main power stations and within the week they BLEW them up with explosives. They did this in other states too. Because we are going for net zero emissions.
DeleteDear Annabel,
ReplyDeleteI will really miss your contributions on readiness. They were really great.
In Slovenia, too, we see that prices are rising every week, and civil unrest is happening several times a week. People resist testing and vaccination, which, however, is mandatory for all employees and for entry into all stores except food and pharmacies. They are even mandatory for the purchase of gasoline.
There are no major food shortages in our country yet. We are lucky to be a very small country and we still have a lot of local food in the shops. I also follow what is happening around the world and I have a very bad feeling about what is to come. So thank you for your encouragement.
Stay safe, stay healthy and God bless you, Alenka
Dear Alenka, Thank you so much for your information. It is quite frightening. I have the same feeling.
DeleteIt is VERY good that you have a lot of local food in the shops. Having local produce means it is not affected by fuel, trucking etc. A big advantage. I really appreciate hearing this information. Thank you for your kind words. With love Annabel.xxx
Thank you for your always encouraging,positive comments and practical teaching !I live in Alberta,Canada and we have partial lockdowns due to the surge in the Delta variant,the gov.t has had to bring in extra nurses from the military,red cross and the province of Newfoundland to help the exhausted medical staff here.We have to show our vaccine cards or have a rapid 72 hr. test to go into restaurants and public places.I'm personally fine with this as we've lost an uncle to covid and had a niece on oxygen for 2 wks. because of it.We're seeing grocery prices rising as well as natural gas, electricity and gasoline.We had major crop failures in the prairie provinces because of the drought and ranchers are selling off most of their herds,hamburger has doubled in price.The news said yesterday because of supply chain issues people should buy Christmas presents early if they can and also running shoes for children in the next size up because those are going to be hard to source.We're having a beautiful fall here and my garden is having a late surge in producing so I'm harvesting everything I can because 2 yrs. ago we had a snowstorm with 3 ft. of snow!I'm so glad that we didn't pull everything out of the garden and clean it up yet because this summer hardly anything grew.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for your report from Alberta. I have been doing Christmas shopping now and buying clothes for my Grandchildren for next winter. I just think its a good idea. Your price rises are very consistent with what we are seeing here. I am glad you are harvesting all you can! xxx
DeleteHi Annabel and Beautiful Bluebirds,
ReplyDeleteYou've had another good week of getting lots done! I love the photos of your animals. Thank you for the information you share with us about preparedness.
This has been a very good week for us. After having a great time finally being able to visit our son and family after more than two years, we flew home Wednesday. It was so good watching our granddaughter at figure skating practice, taking a little hike to a beautiful view of Puget Sound, picking wild black berries, picking apples from their tree, cooking and eating together and having lots of time to visit and enjoy one another's company.
Once we got home, we learned that our son will be receiving a promotion that we have been praying about. Our older daughter who tested positive for COVID feels mostly like she has a head cold and has lost sense of taste and smell. So thankful she had the vaccine, which likely helped, and also our son-in-law hasn't caught it.
When our younger daughter went by a client's house, she was offered the contents of the lady's freezer. She is moving and didn't want to take any of it. Our daughter didn't take it all, but tried to take things she thought would be most useful including steaks, a turkey, turkey breast, chicken, ready made chicken breasts stuffed with cheese and broccoli, several packages of bacon, a variety of cheeses, huge bag of walnuts, huge bag of organic strawberries, frozen veggies and more. She is sharing a lot of it with us and also gave our neighbor a huge bag of lamb and beef to make gyros and some other Greek food items. Neither one of us had room to freeze everything, so the turkey and a few other things are defrosting in the refrigerator to be cooked in a few days. We are so grateful! The things would have been so expensive to purchase!
It has also been a good week for receiving things from our neighbor and the local Buy Nothing Group. There was a lot that we can use as well as share with the food pantry or the group that works with people experiencing homelessness.
It does feel good to be home. Now it's time to work on projects around home. The pantry is due for reorganization and inventorying. My container garden needs work. It is actually planting time for a fall garden here. The weather is starting to cool, which makes outdoor projects much more enjoyable.
Love from Arizona,
Elaine
Dear Elaine,
DeleteI am so glad you got to visit your son and family! And that he got his promotion too!
What a great haul your daughter got from the freezer! That is what I would call a wonderful opportunity!
There is always a lot of work to do when you get home from a trip but it all sounds like good work after such a happy time away! With love Annabel.xxx
Hi Annabel! I went and filled up our bbq propane bottle and asked the propane company if prices were rising or if they were seeing shortages. We live in Arizona in the US. He said no price changes or shortages. Interesting, I had recently read that our nations propane storage was 20% below its five year average, so I was concerned about pricing. So far so good. Some in the US are seeing grocery store empty shelves but I haven’t seen that yet. I will keep you posted!
ReplyDeleteHi Annabel, me again! I forgot to say how much I love your photos, and how wonderful it was to see the effect your biscuits have on herding ;)
DeleteGood job on filling the bottles. Good to have. Glad the shelves are good there. xxx
Delete“Mostly we can be friends and encourage each other. We were born for such a time as this and we can do it! xxx”
ReplyDeleteBeautiful!
Rachel
Thanks Rachel. We can do it too, one day at a time! xxx
DeleteThank you, Annabel, for the time you put into your blog, and in particular the preparedness posts. You seem to be blessed with endless energy and positivity, and to share so much of it through the blog shows great generosity of spirit.
ReplyDeleteThe recent series has shown me that I am not as well-prepared as I thought, but it has put me on the right track, with more of a sense of purpose.
I love your bunches of drying wildflowers! Australia has so many varieties, and I wonder if they are not valued more by visitors, than by Australians, who possibly take their beauty for granted? We have always loved visiting in spring.
As for nest-feathering, my husband and I have just finished painting the fences around our property. I quite enjoyed it, as my favourite sort of painting is the "load up the brush and slap it on" kind, but I'm pretty pleased it's finished!
Thank you again, to you and your contributors. I feel as if I have found like-minded people here.
Linda in NZ
Dear Linda, Thank you so much. I am really glad the series was helpful in some way to you. It is really interesting to look at one thing at a time and think things through. I think we learn more all the time!
DeleteI think we all take for granted a bit the things around us. We have a lot of pinecones and gum nuts. One day on ETSY I saw a lady had a whole business selling pinecones and gum nuts! So what is usual to us is sought after by others. So we need to look at what we do have with new eyes!
Your freshly painted fences will look beautiful. Good job! (Big job too!)
We are nearly at the end of another week! I hope it is going well for you there! With love Annabel.xxx
We just got our first annual fill of Propane. The price is $2.10 per gallon. We use gas for emergency heat and for cooking. Otherwise our home is all electric. I haven't been in a store, other than a premium sort of grocery, in nearly a month. My daughter and daughter in law go out more often but neither have mentioned a hard time finding anything at present.
ReplyDeleteI have made room in my freezer to stock for Thanksgiving and Christmas. I rather got in the habit of shopping online to keep a supply of coffee and such during the pandemic and have kept that up.
Dear Terri,
DeleteI need to make room in my freezer too as I want to get turkey and ham ahead of time. Good job on having your emergency heating and cooking lined up. So important.
Online shopping is very handy. I did that today but in the form of an order then Andy is picking it up. But I have found a lot of things I needed to stock online so easily. It is amazing. And a good way to compare prices too! With much love Annabel.xxx
Annabel--I have mobility issues so only shop a couple of times a month. I noticed several things missing the last time. The canned soup area is smaller and some flavors are missing. Pasta is available but mostly white pasta. Because I am diabetic, I mostly use whole grains. Fairbanks is the distribution site for all the native villages. Juice is becoming hard to obtain, especially low-carb. Dried beans are limited. The stores so far are able to hide shortages by making areas smaller. We don't need potatoes, but I like to keep some mixes on hand and I noticed one brand that usually has 8+ varieties only has 2 now. I keep a deep pantry and am vvery thankful for that. Meat prices are rising quickly.
ReplyDeleteI had hoped that we could take our usual trip to Anchorage but our covid rates are very high. I read an article today which said if Alaska was a country, it would have the highest rates in the world. On top of that, we are getting our first snow of the year so it looks like we will again stay home--it has been 20 months since we have been out of the Borough!
Our church is having in person worship with masks and people well spread out. Last week, we were blessed that someone had sent caribou burger for people to take. We were thankful to get 2 packages which I will use for chili this winter. My husband does not like to waste any sprouted potatoes so he grew 785 pounds this year. We will share freely and thankfully!
Thank you for your 30 days series. I was hoping you would continue to share information occasionally. I will try to access the Tuesday Afternoon Club although I choose to not use Facebook.
Dear Alaska Gram,
DeleteGood spotting on the way the shelves are arranged!! I notice this too! One time I drew a diagram of my local supermarket (back in the city) and I worked out it was only about 1/3 actual food. When you take out the cleaning isles, pet foods, plastics, greeting cards and all the other things thy carry it was 1/3 food. Now I notice that the end of isles which is usually the specials are rarely food now, its all beauty, cleaning etc. We have had big gaps in the shelf stable milk area and everything is just lower stock and fewer choices.
I am thinking caribou is like deer? I need to google! That is really good!
I will continue with some preparedness posts for sure.
I think Facebooks days might be numbered, or my time there... and then I will have to figure out another way we can all share what we are doing. Many thanks and I hope the new week has been good as it is nearly over already! With love Annabel.xxx
It looks very much a spring picture at your place Annabel. Might be time to stock up on ag lime to increase your paddock productivity and gets rid of Cape dandelion which is a sign of acidifying soil I was suprised to learn! I see there's shortages of fertiliser now too as certain trading relations get more strained across nations.
ReplyDeleteYes indeed we are the ones born for this time and we will get through it with all the shared foresight and ideas here.
Kate
Dear Kate,
DeleteOur soil is fairly sandy. We are working on it as it was over stocked for some years. But it is improving, thank you for the information. Thanks also for the tip about fertiliser supplies I didnt think of that one! With thanks, Annabel.xxx
Hi Annabel. Here in NZ the cost of living has been high for many, many years. Petrol we put in our car is currently $2.39L. I use a 10cent voucher to drop the price. That usually adds up to a free car fill a year. Rewards cards here a very poor. Over our latest lock down tasty cheese was nudging $20.00kg. This from a country that produces masses of dairy products. The market dictates they tell us. We have enough to feed 40 million people in a country of 5 million but still people go hungry because of the cost of food, electricity, housing. The average house price across the country is $800,000. Yes you read that right. The rental housing stock is of poor quality and contributes to health issues, particularly in the young and elderly. I work in a low scio economic area and each we are for to be donated beautiful bread from a bakery that has excess left over, along with eggs sometimes and fruit. This is so appreciated by our families. My partner and I are fortunate to live well on 1 income but I have definitely noticed the rising cost of things. We are very organised with our budget and buy home brands, specials, eg,$4.79 for TipTop 2L ice-cream today. This is usually $6.79. It will last us a while. I try to shop second hand f clothing for me and buy on sale new. My partner hardly ever needs new clothes. I am waiting to see how much my health insurance goes up this year. I will find out in the next few weeks. I will also go over our house, contents and car package when due in December. My parents house insurance went up $700.00 this year. Not including contents. So yes the wo is not in a great place right now. What I love about the Bluebirds is that everyone is focused on the they can do and being prepared. There is lots of support and encouragement and information sharing. It's a great place to come.
ReplyDeleteMandy(NZ)
Dear Mandy, Your fuel is certainly expensive. Ours at the moment is about $1.50 and we think that is bad enough! And wow on the cheese. Though some ladies on the blog I knew a little about the rental situation. that is very hard. Thank you for this info as it is funny how in Australia we kind of assume things are much the same there and there are actually some big differences.
DeleteYou are smart and on top of the things you need to be doing. Giant price hikes like your parents insurance makes budgeting hard as it is such a leap!
I hope it has been a good week as it is nearly Friday again. Sorry to take most of the week to reply! With much love Annabel.xxx
Dear Annabel, I am sorry I haven't written for a while, things just go busy, but all is well so that is a good thing. I plan to start the preparedness series next week. I love the picture of your Christmas cakes. What a lovely sight, as are your flowers, they are so beautiful. Well done on the succulents, they will make lovely gifts. I love the swap that you do with the cottage; it's the best swap! Food is is valuable, especially good, nutritious food. I love how you helped out Chloe with the food, what a gift. I have had a good week. I swapped some plastic pots and rosella seeds and dried rosella for the loveliest oregano plant. Not only that the lady took me on a tour of her garden and gave me some tips. I think seeing people's gardens is such fun. Then I bought some things at the op shop, some cotton Peter Alexander shorts, some denim shorts and a sports top and crop top. The crop top alone retails for $60. I then could find the rest of the parts of these outfits for a few dollars. I am trying to work on my garden, I have cuttings in jars. I have planted more seeds and am on the look out for bromeliads that I can get cuttings from. I would really like some rotating compost bins, but we will see. I cooked up a huge chocolate cake and a double batch of Anzac biscuits, I am hoping this helps with returning to school. I have loved the school holidays. I just bought four pairs of school shoes in different sizes for the new year. I think that they will be used and I just can't trust what is going to happen with supply issues etc. We also ordered the children's 'big' Christmas gift- scooters, so they are up on a cupboard, ready to wrap. I can't imagine any of this going well. As I understand not only is there a fuel shortage in Britain, but extra covid payments are being cut, with rapidly rising electricity costs. Then the huge developer in China recently went bankrupt. We are opening up with surging cases, people may lose their jobs. So I have a big job at home to do, a huge one- to make it as happy and calm as possible and of course, to be prepared. Sending love, Love Lily XXX
ReplyDeleteDear Lily,
DeleteThe swap you did with the lady and getting a tour of her garden... that sounds so nice! I love seeing gardens. Most gardeners are good for swaps and cuttings etc too!
You had great op shop finds!!
Where are you located Lily? I am wondering if I can hook you up for some cuttings...
A second big property mob in China also look to go down. You are right there are just signs.
I hope you like the preparedness series. Probably there will be lots you have already done but hopefully some ideas as well!
There have been a lot of developments this week and yes ... what happens next with opening up will be a little bit nerve wracking. You are doing a beautiful job with all that cooking. I do believe the kids go off back to school better with some of Mums treats! With much love Annabel.xxx
Here in South uk the fuel crises has been worrying, queues and people fighting in some petrol stations, thankfully we had filled our car before thankfully and should last a month if we are careful, we are still shielding due to my husband's cancer, the vaccine doesn't work for those with some types of blood cancer, awaiting 3rd booster for him and hope it works. I haven't been in a shop for 18mths, we order our food, we had a problem getting flour a few weeks back, I brought all ingredients my Christmas cakes and pudds. They are saying there won't be enough turkeys this Christmas here, expecting food shortages but so far we seem to be able to get all we need. They say there could be a shortage of milk, Christmas toys, Christmas trees, this year only what I have read on BBC news. We have a good wood supply for the fire and I can draw my husband closer to the fire if things get bad. Like you all feel something is not right somewhere , it is so good to know what is going on in the world, real news. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteDear Sue,
DeleteI am praying for you and your husband.
Good job preparing. I am praying for healing for your husband and health,wisdom and strength for you.
Much love,
Patti from San Diego
Dear Sue,
DeleteI am so glad you are set to make your cakes and puddings. You have been through a lot and that is a long time to not go to the shops but thank goodness for delivery services. I am so glad you have the full you need too. It is funny how here in Australia we feel like the UK is part of us and I feel great affinity for them American ladies as well. The world is small now too in that what happens in one place affects another. I hope your husband is doing well and it has been a good week. Thank you for the UK report too. With love Annabel.xxx
I do so enjoy your posts! The store I go to the most had a lot of bare shelves last week, the worst I had seen since the COVID lockdowns here. This morning, I had to go to Kroger and it looked well stocked but it is the largest grocery store chain in the country. I have been buying a few inexpensive items for the two little grandchildren we live near. I'm giving my son and daughter-in-law mostly various kinds of food I know they will enjoy and may not buy for themselves. Things like my favorite very good balsamic vinegar, my favorite California grown olive oil, etc. Combined they will make a special gift while giving them some food preps without it being obvious. ;)
ReplyDeleteDear Brenda,
DeleteThank you! Since I enjoy your blog so much that is so nice for me!
I love sticky balsamic vinegar. It improves everything so that is one of my special things! The gift of good ingredients and also treats is very nice. I am all for sneaky ways to help preparedness... I have given first aid and car kits, "blackout kits" and good knives, hampers and so on... I like your thinking! With much love Annabel.xxx
Hi Annabel
ReplyDeleteI haven’t commented for a while and haven’t kept up with many of the preparedness tasks, but I do feel like now I have a good plan to follow. Thank you, it must have taken you so many hours to write up!
I love the photo of Andy narrowly avoiding being licked!! Hilarious. And the succulents! Beautiful. They are expensive here!
I’ve been working on improving the ‘feel’ of our house lately. We were locked down for a few weeks in August and September, and we’ve had an extended family member move in recently. I’m not sure how long they will stay here but it will be months at least. And I started to feel like our house wasn’t working as I want it to. So I’ve been working hard to get rid of things we don’t need, organise areas that are bothering me, and am trying to make it feel calm and inviting. Although we are not in lockdown I have still not been going out much so it’s really important to have our home feeling good. Your beautiful photos of flowers hanging are a good reminder of why I’m doing it, they look so lovely hanging in your home.
I’m also preparing for Christmas and am feeling quite good about how that’s going. I should have all gifts purchased and received within two weeks, then can finish off making the small gifts I need to. Food wise I’ve been buying chocolate on special (some may have been consumed just to check it was good lol) and have decided to have a fairly simple Christmas dinner. It will still be special and ‘fancier’ than normal, but with costs rising as they are I’ll go for some cheaper cuts of meat etc.
Anyway, thank you for all of the inspiration and guidance. It is lovely to see what you’ve been up to and hear about your week. I especially love the things you do to help your girls. It warms my heart to hear of how thoughtful and practical you are in the ways you contribute to their homes.
Take care
Jen (NZ)
Dear Annabel,
ReplyDeleteMmmm...I can just taste those delicious fruitcakes! Thank you so much for your 30 day preparedness series...what a great resource for all of us! It's very interesting to read comments on here from Bluebirders all over the world; it helps to get a bigger picture of what is going on, as the news is so unreliable. I think sometimes the news CREATES shortages in some things (toilet paper comes to mind)...I just don't know what it's all about, but things are sure crazy. I am mostly set for Christmas presents, I think...but I am aiming to get holes filled this month, including all my Christmas food/baking supplies. The theory is that then I can sit back and tune out all the frenzy. Ha, ha.
This week has been busy with canning and preserving, again...pears, sauerkraut, hot sauce, more roasted cherry tomatoes for the freezer, etc. It's starting to be more of a trickle, rather than a deluge now, so I can get a breath in here and there and tackle some other jobs. I've also been taking some meals to an elderly distant neighbor who has cancer and doesn't have the energy to cook these days. She has 2 daughters checking in on her all the time, but they don't like to cook, so a few homemade meals are appreciated. This elderly lady was selling her homemade doughnuts at a church pantry sale 10 years ago, and I bought some. The next pantry sale I bought more and raved at how good they were---truly the best doughnuts I'd ever tasted. She offered right then and there to teach me at her house--me, a complete stranger! So I took her up on her offer. I went to her house a couple of weeks later, where she was all ready with the ingredients and a recipe card for me...she is the sort of baker that doesn't measure, but she made sure to put what she'd measured into her hand into a measuring spoon to get me a close estimate in measurements for a written recipe, and then proceeded to show me how to do it all...including the frying in her grandmother's enamel pan. Then we washed the bowl and counter...and she had me do another batch from scratch, all by myself to get the hang of it. Then we sugared them, she made coffee, we ate a couple and chatted, and she sent me home with the whole lot...about 4 dozen! It was truly one of the kindest and most generous things anyone ever did for me, and I will always remember that day. That is the kind of example I think we all can set for others...by just being generous with our time and skills and our homes. Which is what you are doing, Annabel, just virtually! God bless you.
xx Jen in NS
Dear Jen, I too think the world wide insider info we get is helpful. I dont really trust the news very much at all! It is good to hear what is going on "on the ground."
DeleteI love how you met the neighbour! I am glad you took her up on that offer! What a good thing to learn! You re a good cook and this was such a beautiful thing for her to do. Which goes to show what a kindness like this can mean to someone. I think it is wonderful how you are cooking for her now.
Thanks for your kind words Jen. I am glad you will have all the ingredients you need and be set for Christmas. With love Annabel.xxx
Annabel, your flowers drying look absolutely beautiful; like little works of art! You've inspired me to get out and cut some lavender (which is in gorgeous bloom). I love dried lavender to make into little eye masks or wardrobe sachets, so I should get onto that now! This week we did a big stock up for our pantry as well, hoping to get ahead for Christmas. We are planning to do our present shopping soon too, because things are so slow to arrive via post (our shops are still shut for non-essential shopping) and I just know it will get worse as we get closer to Christmas.
ReplyDeleteMy son helped me do a big bake yesterday, so now we have more bread, muffins, and some zucchini slice in the chest freezer. Our holidays end here on Tuesday so I need to get ready for school, but the break in the rain is calling me to head outdoors. I love your fruit cakes and would love to have a go making them this year too. Getting ready to plant our tomato seeds this week as well so will organise the pots and soil. Stay safe and well everyone, and Annabel I look forward to your next post, as always :)
Kirsty x
Dear Kirsty,
DeleteLavender takes a long time to pick but it is worth it! I am glad you did a big stock up and you are doing Christmas a little early too. I am doing the same. The baking for back to school sounds beautiful. Many thanks for your kind words! With love Annabel.xxx
Dear Annabel and lovely blue birds,
ReplyDeleteI am late to the party but though I would comment anyway. We are having some shortages now. In the wedding industry glass for vases, glasses and bottled drinks is in short supply. Candles are hard to source. Garden roses are 17 dollars a stem. Helpers are harder to hire. Many people are very behind on things like alterations. If you are good with a sewing machine this could bring in extra income.
We try to shop online so I can't speak speak about the shelves. But they are limiting soap buying,toilet paper, dry goods. Gluten free prices have gone way up. We have started getting a farm box. Great to have farm fresh vegetables. I am not able to garden right now because I am fighting CML leukemia. Hopefully soon I love to garden.
We are having a housing shortage in San Diego. We are praying for a new safe home as this one has much hidden mold and has made us ill. I can't wait to see what home God has for us! 💕 It will be all him because rental stock is very low. About 4 to 5 thousand dollars a month for a basic home in a safe neighborhood. Of course this is out of our budget on one income. So I keep praying Glory to God when he gives us a safe home at a price in our budget. I keep hearing God is a way maker. I can do all things through God who strengthened me.
The crime has really increase in this area. The police helicopter flies every night very close to our house. A few streets over we have shootings weekly.
We try not to go out at night, in this area.
It is nice that North of us about 25 min are much better areas.
We try to be creative and flexible when it comes to
groceries and stocking the cupboards. We have tried new veggies the last couple of weeks. That has been fun. They are saying expect that you may not have fresh fruit or vegetables this winter as shipped delayed produce won't be good. We can do this!
God's grace and peace be with you.
Big hugs and love,
Patti from San Diego
Dear Patti,
Delete$17 per rose!! I did hear something about glass. Wow this would really be affecting so many things!
Patti I will be praying for you. Also for you to find a safe home that is affordable. I think getting the produce box is a really good idea. Also beautiful. Produce to me is almost as nice as flowers! Thank you for passing on what you are hearing re fresh produce. I am glad you have the warning. A warning is something at least so you can prepare. With much love Annabel.xxx
I finished rehabbing my strawberry bed this weekend. I took out all of the plants (a solid mat), added compost and bagged soil, then replanted 68 plants...and composted hundreds more. My only cost was about $20 for bagged garden soil. Since I couldn't hire anyone to do it (and I tried), I saved the cost of labor. This was a lot of work for an old arthritic bluebird! But doing this has really helped with the funk I've been in.
ReplyDeleteI also encouraged urban friends to do a little prepping due to supply chain issues...but these folks will never learn. They are used to living week to week with EVERYTHING at their fingertips and can't believe life will ever be any different. They think I'm a little nuts. Aren't these the people who were worried about running out of toilet paper?? I had plenty.
I bought 15 lbs. of 80% lean ground beef for $2.29 lb., which I anticipate will be the lowest price. I made 69 meatballs, and it's a good thing I did. I repackaged most of the meat into smaller packages for the freezer. I also rearranged my freezer. With what I already have, this should easily see us through the winter as we eat smaller portions of meat than we used to.
Our good dog, Molly, who is in end-stage kidney failure, is still with us, although probably not for many more days. Most of the week was taken up caring for her and crying my eyes out. But she has had several good days since coming home from the vet. She doesn't like the kidney support dog food the vet sent home, but she does like meatballs! And when she wouldn't touch the meatballs tonight, she ate bacon!
Bless Molly’s heart!
DeleteDear Maxine,
DeleteGood work on the strawberry bed. You have so many! That is among! You did well!
It is good to encourage others but sometimes it is water off a ducks back!
The ground meat was such a good deal and I love how many meatballs you made! It takes time but packaging into meal sized portions saves a lot.
So we both have a Molly! I am very so sorry if you have lost your Molly this week as I have taken all week to reply. I know you will have done all you ever could to give her a good life. With love and hugs, Annabel.xxx